5 Things We are Excited For @ Sónar Reykjavík 2017

5 Things We are Excited For @ Sónar Reykjavík 2017

Who said the winter has to be boring? Iceland has so many amazing festivals happening this winter that, quite frankly, there are no excuses for the winter blues. Melancholy avoiding distractions come in in the form of Oration Festival, Dark Music Days and, of course, the big one Sónar Reykjavík!

We are super excited about this years edition, so excited that we’ve compiled a handy list of five very super things we are looking forward to witnessing, and, you should be too!

Set in the magnificent jewel in the crown of the harbour in Reykjavík, Harpa, it’s always a thing of wonder to meander around the building, finding new nooks and crannies, and of course, instagram the hell outta the whole thing.

So, back to the list of anticipation…

1. At number ONE we have Mr. múm/FM Belfast himself Örvar Smárason premiering his solo project. No one knows what it will sound or look like, but given his amazing work in his other great bands, we are biting our nails in abject excitement to see how it will all turn out.

Örvar is most definitely held in high regard; “Without a doubt one of the most prolific creators in Iceland, Örvar Smárason can not only be credited with having co-founded such acclaimed and adored bands as múm and FM Belfast, but he’s also a poet, an artist, a collaborator – and a curator of the Nordic Playlist!” – Nordic Playlist from last Iceland Airwaves. Be still our beating hearts.

2. Auður – Since being selected to participate Red Bull Music Academy in Montréal (the academy’s alumni includes folks like cosmic electro wizard Flying Lotus, superstar DJ Nina Kravitz, maximalist producer Hudson Mohawke and soul singer extraordinaire Aloe Blacc) last year, his career has been going from strength to strength. The very hotly anticipated debut album is expected to drop sometime in February this year, so not long to wait now!

He’s returning, like the prodigal son to Sónar RVK and with him more live performing experience and more sass that you can shake a midi controller at. Can’t wait to see him bust out his infamous smooth moves on stage.

3. Frímann is turning out to be a red hot internationally sought out DJ.Frímann has been spreading the deep, funky and crunchy sounds of techno for many years. He started djing in 1987 in school events and later organized rave and warehouse partys before playing in clubs. In 1993 Frímann turned his focus onto techno and became known for his tight sets and pioneering sounds. Today Frímann plays various forms of techouse as long as it is deep´n funky

Now the rest of the world is catching on to his talent getting picked up to play on the international DJ circuit and turning into a superstar DJ. He will play Thursday along with Ben Klock in the underground carpark of Harpa. Catch him in his hometown playing to his adoring fans!

4. Sturla Atlas, The 101 boys themselves are dropping their debut album in February, this is very exciting for a number of reasons, mostly because we can wait to hear a full length, fully realised version of what they’ve been putting out thus far. They’ve been getting so much international press that we suspect a lot of people out there are waiting with bated breath to wrap their ears around the new album. Their concert at Sónar will be the big reveal party and we can’t wait!

5. Exos, One of Iceland’s premier techno DJ’s will be doing a set with the legendary Blawan – what to expect? Good question! We spoke with Mr. Exos himself and asked him to talk about himself and Blawan and what to expect from their set together. “My relationship with Blawan started when me and Nina (Trip Records) were thinking about who would be the best to play in the first Trip party in the Cave 2 years ago….Blawan was of course the first person we thought of…

…for me , Blawan is one of the pioneers of Techno which is very rare coming from his generation.
I have played few times with Blawan and Karenn (blawan pariah), best live act today! I think its the 5th time that we share the stage. Expect power and energy, we ain’t there to relax so be prepared! Sónar Reykjavík brought techno as a possible platform in Iceland 3 years ago and its a honour to be a part of this event and i am looking very much forward for it.”

So, there we have it, five very cool things to whet your appetite for Sónar Reykjavík 2017! Tickets still available here.

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